Ma-Nee Chacaby

Mary Louisa Plummer

A compelling, harrowing, but ultimately uplifting story of resilience and self-discovery. "A Two-Spirit Journey" is Ma-Nee Chacaby's extraordinary account of her life as an Ojibwa-Cree lesbian. From her early, often harrowing memories of life and abuse in a remote Ojibwa community riven by poverty and alcoholism, Chacaby's story is one of enduring and ultimately overcoming the social, economic, and health legacies of colonialism. As a child, Chacaby learned spiritual and cultural traditions from her Cree grandmother and trapping, hunting, and bush survival skills from her Ojibwa stepfather. She also suffered physical and sexual abuse by different adults, and in her teen years became alcoholic herself. At twenty, Chacaby moved to Thunder Bay with her children to escape an abusive marriage. Abuse, compounded by racism, continued, but Chacaby found supports to help herself and others. Over the following decades, she achieved sobriety; trained and worked as an alcoholism counsellor; raised her children and fostered many others; learned to live with visual impairment; and came out as a lesbian. In 2013, Chacaby led the first gay pride parade in Thunder Bay. Ma-Nee Chacaby has emerged from hardship grounded in faith, compassion, humour, and resilience. Her memoir provides unprecedented insights into the challenges still faced by many Indigenous people.

The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder

A Two-spirit Journey

This book examines how the “ABC” behaviors—Abstinence, Being faithful, and Condom use— can be promoted more effectively with young rural Africans. It draws on an extraordinarily large qualitative study affiliated with a randomized controlled trial in Tanzania.

Qualitative Findings from an Intervention Trial in Rural Tanzania

Promoting Abstinence, Being Faithful, and Condom Use with Young Africans

Daniel Wight

This book draws on an extraordinarily large and representative qualitative study to examine the variety of young people's sexual relationships and practices in a region typical of rural Africa. It describes how contradictory social ideals and expectations led to concealment of premarital and extramarital relationships. It then examines how this secrecy, combined with poor understanding of HIV/AIDS and the common practice of material exchange for sex, contributed to short relationships, fast partner change, concurrent partnerships, and related sexual health risks.

Findings from a Large Qualitative Study in Tanzania

Young People's Lives and Sexual Relationships in Rural Africa

This book examines how the “ABC” behaviors – Abstinence, Being faithful, and Condom use – can be promoted more effectively with young rural Africans. It draws on an extraordinarily large qualitative study affiliated with a randomized controlled trial in Tanzania. The book assesses the process and impact of the MEMA kwa Vijana adolescent sexual health intervention; examines the motivations and strategies of youth who practiced low risk behaviors; and provides detailed recommendations for school and community programs.

Mary Louisa Plummer

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